CHAPTER IV
CJ looked over at Annie. She had never met this mysterious granddaughter of her boss before and she was enjoying the conversation. "So why did you want to meet me so bad, Annie?"
"Dude, I don't know. Its just I see you on the news all of the time, and your so funny and classy...I want to be like you someday."
CJ was touched. She looked back at Annie with her pierced eyebrows, black lipstick and abnormally blackened hair and realized just how many types of classiness there were. "Do you mean my job?"
"Yeah, I think so. I want to be a press secretary, after watching you, because I think its what I was born to do."
"How old are you, Annie?"
"I'll be eighteen next month."
With that comment CJ received a mental smack and suddenly realized what day it was. Today was CJ Cregg's forty-fifth birthday, and she didn't even realize it until half way through the day. No one even stopped her in the halls, none of her friends, not even Carol. Not even her father gave her a call.
With that CJ received another mental smack. Her father had been dead for over a month now, and she still had to keep reminding herself that he was truly gone.
"CJ, are you okay?" Annie looked over at the press secretary with genuine concern.
"Oh yeah. Um, do you want a tour or something? I could, you know, show you the ropes..."
Annie's eyes glistened with interest. "Man, that would be awesome."
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Carol sighed with relief. The two boxes were right on the counter where she had left them. She took the thinner one and set it on the front seat of her sedan. Then she lugged the bigger box to the back seat of her car. She thought for a moment and went back into the apartment.
Finding what she was looking for she brought it back to her vehicle. She stuffed the items in the nooks and crannies of the larger box. Now all she had to do was practice her charm with the security guard, and everything would turn out just fine.
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"Donna!" Josh was incredulous. Some wacko had bid a hundred dollars on the Bartlet Chip. "Donna, come quick!"
Donna sauntered her way down the hallway toward Josh's office. When she reached the doorway she peaked her head in. "Good morning sunshine."
"Its noon...and what took you so long?" Donna disliked her boss's lack of appreciation. "I heard you call my name, so I came, then I heard 'come quick', so I went slower."
"Oh, well next time my life's in danger, when I ask you to come, feel free to take your time."
"So what's up?" Donna didn't have to ask. This was Josh, so it had to be something imperative to the legacy of the President of the United States, and she was right.
"The potato chip. Someone upbidded me."
"Someone upbidded you?"
"Yep." Josh's face steamed with the expression of an angry possum.
"And what did you get on your verbal SATs again?"
"Better than you. Lets get this chip back. How about we both put in a hundred and bid two. No one will take it from us then." Josh was very determined. This was almost bigger than winning a vote.
"Sounds great, except you make much more than I do-"
"Okay, you fifty, me one-fifty."
"Done." Donna was delighted. This potato chip was the most exciting thing to happen all day.
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Leo walked into the Oval Office. Remembering his nightmare he pinched himself a few times before looking up at the president, who was reading at his desk. And it wasn't a snack food with reading glasses this time. "Thank God," he sighed.
"Leo, I didn't see you come in. What are you so relieved about?"
"I'm relieved that I don't have the urge to eat you." Leo was about to elaborate, "Sir, I mean, well, I had a dream-"
"Leo, are you sure you want to go on?"
"Sir, I had a dream that you, that you were a giant mutant potato chip." Leo stared at the president, unsure if what he had just said made him legally insane.
"Leo, remember this next time. When it comes to your dreams, ignorance is bliss."
Leo looked down at the book in the president's hands. "Reading anything good?"
"Lord John Marbury let me borrow it. He says it's a hit over in Britain."
Leo looked slightly dismayed. "What's it about?"
"It's a strange story about a magical boy who, coincidently, has the ability to transform me into a potato chip. Actually, the boy would probably get it wrong and turn me into a french fry, but his girlfriend or whatever she is would probably get it right."
"Is she the know-it-all, Mr. President? Let me guess, she's your favorite character."
"I ought to smack you one someday."
"Sir, in a couple hours we have that thing to go to, I just got a call from Toby."
The president was slightly confused. Then the memories surfaced. "Oh, right, the thing's today. This afternoon, right?"
Leo smiled. "Yeah, its gonna be a big surprise."
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CJ led Annie into the briefing room just as some moving crews were there moving things around. She watched as one of the men began rolling her beloved podium away. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"
The moving man looked down at his cargo. "Well miss, this here podium's been infested with termites. Another one should be coming in shortly."
CJ couldn't believe it. For over five years she's used that podium, and now because of those stupid bugs, she would never talk behind it again. "Can I say goodbye?"
"Well, if you want to..."
CJ said goodbye to the podium and then continued the tour with Annie.
She showed the eager teenager the seating arrangements for the media, as well as some of the camera tricks employed during the broadcasts. She even let Annie stand up at the place where the podium would be, pretending to answer questions from CJ, who was very excited to play the part of the reporter.
After the pressroom tour Annie still wasn't satisfied. "Josh Lyman works in this building, right?"
"Yeah"
"Can I meet him too?"
CJ looked confused. "So you want to be deputy chief of staff too?"
"No. I just think the dude's hot."
CJ nodded at Annie in mutual understanding.
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Carol drove back to the west wing as fast as possible. There wasn't much time, not much time at all. She opened the box next to her and dipped her finger into the frosting, licking it off composedly. No one else was probably going to eat it anyway, she told herself.
It was too bad it had to be this afternoon, or else they would have been more time to prepare, but Danny was leaving later and she really wanted him to be there for this. This was CJ's special day, and she wanted the press to be there for it. All of it.
CJ looked over at Annie. She had never met this mysterious granddaughter of her boss before and she was enjoying the conversation. "So why did you want to meet me so bad, Annie?"
"Dude, I don't know. Its just I see you on the news all of the time, and your so funny and classy...I want to be like you someday."
CJ was touched. She looked back at Annie with her pierced eyebrows, black lipstick and abnormally blackened hair and realized just how many types of classiness there were. "Do you mean my job?"
"Yeah, I think so. I want to be a press secretary, after watching you, because I think its what I was born to do."
"How old are you, Annie?"
"I'll be eighteen next month."
With that comment CJ received a mental smack and suddenly realized what day it was. Today was CJ Cregg's forty-fifth birthday, and she didn't even realize it until half way through the day. No one even stopped her in the halls, none of her friends, not even Carol. Not even her father gave her a call.
With that CJ received another mental smack. Her father had been dead for over a month now, and she still had to keep reminding herself that he was truly gone.
"CJ, are you okay?" Annie looked over at the press secretary with genuine concern.
"Oh yeah. Um, do you want a tour or something? I could, you know, show you the ropes..."
Annie's eyes glistened with interest. "Man, that would be awesome."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Carol sighed with relief. The two boxes were right on the counter where she had left them. She took the thinner one and set it on the front seat of her sedan. Then she lugged the bigger box to the back seat of her car. She thought for a moment and went back into the apartment.
Finding what she was looking for she brought it back to her vehicle. She stuffed the items in the nooks and crannies of the larger box. Now all she had to do was practice her charm with the security guard, and everything would turn out just fine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
"Donna!" Josh was incredulous. Some wacko had bid a hundred dollars on the Bartlet Chip. "Donna, come quick!"
Donna sauntered her way down the hallway toward Josh's office. When she reached the doorway she peaked her head in. "Good morning sunshine."
"Its noon...and what took you so long?" Donna disliked her boss's lack of appreciation. "I heard you call my name, so I came, then I heard 'come quick', so I went slower."
"Oh, well next time my life's in danger, when I ask you to come, feel free to take your time."
"So what's up?" Donna didn't have to ask. This was Josh, so it had to be something imperative to the legacy of the President of the United States, and she was right.
"The potato chip. Someone upbidded me."
"Someone upbidded you?"
"Yep." Josh's face steamed with the expression of an angry possum.
"And what did you get on your verbal SATs again?"
"Better than you. Lets get this chip back. How about we both put in a hundred and bid two. No one will take it from us then." Josh was very determined. This was almost bigger than winning a vote.
"Sounds great, except you make much more than I do-"
"Okay, you fifty, me one-fifty."
"Done." Donna was delighted. This potato chip was the most exciting thing to happen all day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Leo walked into the Oval Office. Remembering his nightmare he pinched himself a few times before looking up at the president, who was reading at his desk. And it wasn't a snack food with reading glasses this time. "Thank God," he sighed.
"Leo, I didn't see you come in. What are you so relieved about?"
"I'm relieved that I don't have the urge to eat you." Leo was about to elaborate, "Sir, I mean, well, I had a dream-"
"Leo, are you sure you want to go on?"
"Sir, I had a dream that you, that you were a giant mutant potato chip." Leo stared at the president, unsure if what he had just said made him legally insane.
"Leo, remember this next time. When it comes to your dreams, ignorance is bliss."
Leo looked down at the book in the president's hands. "Reading anything good?"
"Lord John Marbury let me borrow it. He says it's a hit over in Britain."
Leo looked slightly dismayed. "What's it about?"
"It's a strange story about a magical boy who, coincidently, has the ability to transform me into a potato chip. Actually, the boy would probably get it wrong and turn me into a french fry, but his girlfriend or whatever she is would probably get it right."
"Is she the know-it-all, Mr. President? Let me guess, she's your favorite character."
"I ought to smack you one someday."
"Sir, in a couple hours we have that thing to go to, I just got a call from Toby."
The president was slightly confused. Then the memories surfaced. "Oh, right, the thing's today. This afternoon, right?"
Leo smiled. "Yeah, its gonna be a big surprise."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
CJ led Annie into the briefing room just as some moving crews were there moving things around. She watched as one of the men began rolling her beloved podium away. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"
The moving man looked down at his cargo. "Well miss, this here podium's been infested with termites. Another one should be coming in shortly."
CJ couldn't believe it. For over five years she's used that podium, and now because of those stupid bugs, she would never talk behind it again. "Can I say goodbye?"
"Well, if you want to..."
CJ said goodbye to the podium and then continued the tour with Annie.
She showed the eager teenager the seating arrangements for the media, as well as some of the camera tricks employed during the broadcasts. She even let Annie stand up at the place where the podium would be, pretending to answer questions from CJ, who was very excited to play the part of the reporter.
After the pressroom tour Annie still wasn't satisfied. "Josh Lyman works in this building, right?"
"Yeah"
"Can I meet him too?"
CJ looked confused. "So you want to be deputy chief of staff too?"
"No. I just think the dude's hot."
CJ nodded at Annie in mutual understanding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Carol drove back to the west wing as fast as possible. There wasn't much time, not much time at all. She opened the box next to her and dipped her finger into the frosting, licking it off composedly. No one else was probably going to eat it anyway, she told herself.
It was too bad it had to be this afternoon, or else they would have been more time to prepare, but Danny was leaving later and she really wanted him to be there for this. This was CJ's special day, and she wanted the press to be there for it. All of it.